


Reflections

by Bitter_Sweet



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Blood, Feelings, Horror, Kissing, Love, M/M, Mirrors, Psychological Horror, Slow Burn, Trauma, established changlix, established minsung, haunted mirror, kind of, main seungjin, side changlix, side minsung, soft, this is actually a horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24973564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitter_Sweet/pseuds/Bitter_Sweet
Summary: “Can you speak?” Seungmin asked, concerned and trying not to think about how strange what he was doing was. The man looked around, seemingly frightened. After turning to look over his shoulder, he met Seungmin’s eyes again.“Yes . . .” It was barely more than a whisper, but it was there. Seungmin downright shivered. Seungmin knit his eyebrows together in concern. He was talking to a mirror.“What is your name?” he asked nonetheless.“Hyunjin,” the man said softly. “Hwang Hyunjin.”orSeungmin never thought his love for antiquing would be something life changing. That was, until he decided to take home a strange, intricate mirror that he felt inexplicably drawn to. Seungmin comes to find that the mirror hides an intriguing secret: there is a person trapped within it. Seungmin swears to help this unfortunate stranger, but, when the mirror begins to cause issues Seungmin could have never imagined possible, he is faced with a difficult situation; he can't live with the torment, but he also can't give up on the man in his mirror.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 28
Kudos: 110





	Reflections

**Author's Note:**

> I spent a long time on this when I definitely should have been doing other things. But, as a result, I am kind of in love with this fic. I hope you enjoy it!

There is a certain magic and horror to antique shops. Perhaps that is why Seungmin felt so drawn to them. 

Seungmin had always enjoyed antique shops. He loved seeing all of the old trinkets and decorations; silverware, teacups, books, music boxes. It intrigued him looking at all of these items that felt so old, so intriguing. Everything in an antique shop seemed like it had a story and Seungmin adored this about them. 

“Seungmin, look!” Jeongin called for him from across the store. Seungmin raised his head to see his friend trotting towards him with a tiny glass fox in his hands. “Isn’t this just the cutest thing ever?”

Seungmin smiled at how adorable the younger was. Jeongin had no interest in going antiquing with Seungmin for a long time, but once he finally tried he really seemed to enjoy what he would find. 

“You should get it,” Seungmin prompted. “I’ll buy it for you.”

“Really?” Jeongin beamed. “Thank you!” He skipped happily away, leaving Seungmin to continue to wander the shop on his own. 

Seungmin may like antique shops, but it was not often he actually purchased anything. To him, it was almost like a museum, but one where he had free reign to touch whatever he wanted. It was like magic. However, it took something special to get him to buy anything and it didn’t happen often. Though, he did find himself buying a lot of things for Jeongin recently and it also made a nice place to buy presents that his friends couldn’t get anywhere else. 

Seungmin was inspecting a colorful glass figurine when he saw it. Thinking he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, Seungmin looked up to see someone staring at him. He sighed when he realized he was simply looking into a mirror, feeling silly for being scared by it. However, he couldn’t help but find himself drawn to it. Setting down the figurine, Seungmin made his way closer to the mirror. 

The mirror was giant by Seungmin’s standards, but it did not seem to be a full length mirror. It was framed with intricate gold patterns that Seungmin could easily get lost trying to decipher. It was gorgeous. However, that isn’t what was drawing Seungmin in. 

As Seungmin stared at his reflection, he still couldn’t manage to shake the feeling that it was watching him. He knew it seemed silly, obviously his reflection would be watching him if he was staring at it, but the longer he stared the more he felt it. 

Eventually Seungmin sighed, backing away. He couldn’t spend all day looking at his reflection in an antique shop. He was hoping to find something to take home today. Seungmin looked over his shoulder to give the mirror one last glance and he froze. Seungmin didn’t even breathe. He was staring directly at the mirror, but it wasn’t his reflection that was looking back at him. 

Seungmin blinked, once, hard. He was still there. Standing in the mirror, staring back at him, wasn’t his own reflection, but the face of another man, one that didn’t look much older than Seungmin. His dark hair fell in front of his face, parted in the middle, and he seemed to have a distinct beauty mark under one eye. It was all so vivid. The dark eyes boring into his own. The sadness that seemed to lie behind them. Seungmin could hear his heartbeat in his ears. What was happening? He turned back around. 

“Jeongin!” He called, not caring that they were in a public space and he was probably being obnoxious by doing so. He was freaking out. Just as Seungmin was getting ready to call again he saw the younger round a corner, looking concerned. 

“What?” Jeongin asked, confused. Seungmin never yelled for him like that. 

Seungmin spun back around to the mirror, fully intending to point out the man seeming trapped behind the glass. However, when Seungmin faced the mirror again, all he saw in the glass was his reflections. “W—What . . .?” Seungmin breathed quietly, confused. 

“Oh!” Jeongin skipped over to him, gazing into the mirror now as well. Seungmin watched as his friend’s reflection joined his in the glass. “That’s a really pretty mirror. Do you plan on getting it?” 

Seungmin forgot how to breathe for a second, opening and closing his mouth. Maybe he needed to be getting some more sleep. “N—” he began before quickly closing his mouth. That had all felt so real. How could he imagine someone in that vivid of detail? He swore he had never seen anyone like that before in his life. Even if he was going insane, something about that mirror still called out to him. “Yes, actually,” Seungmin replied, somewhat surprising himself. “I think I do. But I’ll need some help getting it out of here.”

“That thing looks crazy heavy,” Jeongin complained. 

“Which is exactly why I can’t carry it by myself,” Seungmin reasoned and Jeongin sighed. 

Seungmin hung his new mirror on the wall, just inside the archway in his dining room. He had just moved out of his apartment and had been needing desperately to decorate his new house. He lived in the middle of the woods, finding the nature around him to be perfect for photos. Being a photographer, it was okay that he was so far away from everything since his job could pretty much be done remotely. Sure he needed to travel some for shoots, but he had made a name for himself in his independant works and it was enough to get him a two story house out on his own like this. 

Seungmin took a step back to look at his new, odd piece of furniture. Now that he had hung it up he realized it sort of clashed with everything else in the room. He hummed, displeased. He felt like it would match his room in a strange way, but after what he thought he saw in the antique shop he was a little too paranoid to keep in in such a personal place. Maybe he would move it once he got more used to it. 

For a few days, that mirror was just a mirror and that was that. Seungmin would pass it when it entered and exited his dining room, barely giving it a second thought. That was, until he saw him again. 

Seungmin was just sitting at his table, minding his own business, eating a slice of cheesecake all by himself, when his eyes caught on the mirror. At first, he just thought he got spooked by his reflection again. However, he quickly realized that wasn’t the case. His breath caught in his throat and his fork clattered down to the plate from where he had been holding it up to his mouth, about to take another bite. 

Seungmin was frozen, staring at the same man he had seen in the mirror at the antique shop. Thinking he saw him once was one thing, explained away easily enough, but seeing the exact same person again. Surely this couldn’t be a hallucination. 

Slowly getting up from the chair, Seungmin made his way over to the mirror, shaking like a leaf. He was scared that if he looked away for even a second the boy would disappear again. Seungmin felt a shiver shoot down his spine as he stared dead into the eyes of the person on the other side of the glass. 

“Wh—” Seungmin began, forgetting how to use his voice. “Who . . .?” The man stared back, and he looked so _sad_. “Are . . . are you okay?” Seungmin didn’t know why that was the question he chose to ask, but, honestly, what else do you ask someone who seems to be stuck in a mirror? The man shook his head. 

“Can you speak?” Seungmin asked, concerned and trying not to think about how strange what he was doing was. The man looked around, seemingly frightened. After turning to look over his shoulder, he met Seungmin’s eyes again. 

“Yes . . .” It was barely more than a whisper, but it was there. Seungmin downright shivered. Seungmin knit his eyebrows together in concern. He was talking to a mirror. 

“What is your name?” he asked nonetheless. 

“Hyunjin,” the man said softly. “Hwang Hyunjin.”

“I’m Seungmin,” he offered in return, resisting the urge to hold out his hand, reminding himself the person he was talking to was in a mirror. Hyunjin smiled, barely, but Seungmin didn’t miss it. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Hyunjin’s voice still sounded so soft, so hurt. Seungmin wanted to give him a hug. 

For the first time, Seungmin turned away from the mirror, running a hand through his hair. “I must be losing my mind,” he whispered to himself. 

“I get that a lot,” a voice sighed sadly. Seungmin looked back over to see that Hyunjin was still there. He couldn’t believe what was happening. 

“What happened?” Seungmin questioned. “How did you end up in there?”

Hyunjin looked troubled. “That’s the thing, I don’t remember. I am so sure that I had a life outside of this because I see food and I remember what it tastes like, I see flowers and I remember how they smell, but I have no memories of it or how I got stuck here.” That broke Seungmin’s heart. 

“So you have no idea how long you have been stuck in there?” Hyunjin shook his head. “That’s terrible. Is there any way I can get you out?”

Hyunjin sighed, shaking his head slowly. “You should just return me. Please. Take me back to wherever it is you got me. You seem so nice.”

Seungmin was confused. “Why would I do that?” Hyunjin didn’t answer, looking away. “Hyunjin, I want to help you get out of there.” He shook his head. “No. I am _going_ to get you out of there.”

“That’s what they all say . . .”

“Hyunjin, what do you—”

“Seungmin, I am begging you. Take the mirror back. I’m not worth it.”

Seungmin was a mess of emotions, most of which were some form of confusion. “What are you talking about? Of course I’m not taking you back!”

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin pleaded. 

Seungmin folded his arms. “Nope. I will get you out of there. I am making that a promise.” Hyunjin seemed upset, but Seungmin had given his word. Hyunjin seemed so sweet. He would do anything to get him out of there. Before Hyunjin could argue more, Seungmin changed the subject. “So, you really can’t eat in there?”

As weeks passed, Seungmin found himself delighted by Hyunjin’s company. It didn’t take him long to decide that he was tired of having to sit on his dining room floor to talk to his new friend, so he finally moved the mirror up to his room, fixing it carefully above the dresser. It really did work better in his bedroom. 

Seungmin found that he could spend hours talking to Hyunjin. He was like a friend Seungmin had known for all of his life. Eventually, Hyunjin opened up more, becoming more happy and jovial. Seungmin much preferred seeing him that way. However, he also discovered that Hyunjin couldn’t show up when he had other people over. Jeongin and Chan had visited him one evening for supper, just to hang out, and Seungmin didn’t see Hyunjin at all that night. When Seungmin asked him why, he told him that he couldn’t.

That was one thing that Seungmin couldn’t seem to understand. Whenever he would ask Hyunjin about the mirror and how he was traped, Hyunjin would suddenly get very flustered and find ways to avoid his questions. Seungmin couldn’t help but feel like Hyunjin was hiding something and Seungmin hated it because he wanted nothing more than to trust him. 

It took almost a month before strange things began to happen. Or, maybe it just took that long for Seungmin to really notice them. He wasn’t exactly the most observant person and he had been incredibly distracted with Hyunjin ever since he got that mirror. 

Seungmin was sitting on his sofa, watching a new series on his television when the tv suddenly shut off with no explanation. Seungmin frowned, fishing the remote out from under his blanket and trying to turn it back on. After several clicks of the button with no effect, Seungmin stood up with a huff. All of the rest of the electricity was on so he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. 

He shuffled over to the tv. It was still plugged in. He was confused. It was then that Seungmin heard what sounded like a meow coming from somewhere in his house. This probably wouldn’t be concerning to some people, but Seungmin didn’t have a cat. 

Seungmin followed the sound into his kitchen where he saw someone standing in the corner. He screamed in fear. Who had gotten into his house? Heart racing, Seungmin was readying himself to run when he recognised the person in his home. 

“Chan?” Seungmin questioned. What was he doing here? Seungmin was sure he had work today and he lived almost an hour away. 

Seungmin turned to look out the window towards the driveway, trying to see if his friend’s car was parked outside. Nothing but his own. When Seungmin turned back around, there was no one there. Seungmin looked around in fear and confusion. What had just happened? 

Seungmin left the kitchen feeling terrified and froze when he heard another sound in the house he was supposed to be alone in. It took him a moment to recognise the voice of one of the characters in the show he was watching. 

When Seungmin crept slowly back into the livingroom, the television was on, playing the episode he had left off on as if it had never stopped. Seungmin’s heart was beating out of his chest and he was shaking. He had no idea what had just happened, but he was terrified. He sat back down on the sofa, and reached to pick up the remote from where he had left it before going into the kitchen only to find that it wasn’t there. 

Seungmin looked around in confusion before reaching under the blanket, trying to locate the remote to rewind the show to watch what he had missed. He felt a chill run down his spine when his hand met with the plastic of the remote under the blanket, just where he had found the remote when the television had turned off, like it had never moved. 

Instead of rewinding the episode, Seungmin shakily lifted the remoted and switched off the television before hobbling his way up the stairs to his bedroom. He curled himself into the covers of his bed, staring at the mirror. 

“Hyunjin,” he called, voice wavering. He sounded as sacred as he felt. “Hyunjin,” he called again, voice broken. 

He blinked and Hyunjin was in the mirror, looking at him with concern. “Seungmin, are you okay?” He looked like he wanted to reach out, but they both knew it was impossible. Seungmin shook his head, burying himself further in the blankets. Hyunjin pouted, hurt in his eyes, before biting his lip. If Seungmin didn’t know better, he’d think Hyunjin looked guilty. But he did know better. 

“I just . . .” Seungmin began shakily. “Need some comfort right now. I think I’m losing my mind.”

Hyunjin nodded, giving him a small, “okay.” “I wish I could come out of here and give you a hug,” Hyunjin sighed. “You look like you need one."

Seungmin stopped himself before saying, “I do.” “You being here is enough. Thank you.”

He hadn’t known Hyunjin for long, but something about them just . . . clicked. Seungmin just felt so comfortable with Hyunjin, something that was rather strange considering he was stuck in a mirror, but Seungmin couldn’t help it. He loved spending time with the man in his mirror and he would do everything he could to get Hyunjin out. 

Seungmin had been researching like crazy since the first day he talked to Hyunjin. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing on the internet about people being trapped in mirrors besides obvious works of fiction; several horror movies, some strange articles, and a Barbie movie seemed to be the main results. His search for “how to get people out of mirrors” also wasn’t very successful. All in all, he was struggling. 

Seungmin had also tried looking up Hyunjin’s name in hopes he could figure out how he got trapped in that mirror in the first place. However, his search yielded no results, leaving Seungmin feeling frustrated. Since the beginning, he had made no progress. And now things were only getting weirder. 

Seungmin ended up talking to Hyunjin until he fell asleep that night. He was always comforting. Seungmin hoped that Hyunjin enjoyed his presence as much as he enjoyed the other man’s because Seungmin realized he didn’t have much of a choice. 

A couple days had passed and he was fine. Seungmin was almost ready to forget about what had happened. Almost.

It was the middle of the night and Seungmin woke up with a start. It took him a moment to realize why. It felt like his skin was crawling. No. Like something was crawling on his skin. Seungmin shrieked when he looked down to see himself covered in spiders. They seemed to be coming from everywhere, surrounding him and slowly creeping up his body. Seungmin started hyperventilating, panicking. 

The spiders crawled closer to his face and he realized that they weren’t just any spiders, they were black widows. Seungmin’s entire body tensed up in pure terror. He was scared that if he moved even enough to breathe one of the little beasts climbing all over him would bite and that would be the end. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. His body was trying desperately to suck in breaths while he was trying to will himself to be completely still. He squeezed his eyes closed, hoping with all of his heart that this was some terrible dream. Unfortunately, when he opened them, he was still stuck in this nightmarish reality. 

In the pale moonlight, Seungmin could make out the mirror above his dresser. Somehow, what he saw made him fear even more. The mirror was a pure, inky black. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin whined in desperation, praying that no spiders would crawl in his mouth as he did so. He closed his eyes again, tears rushing down his cheeks. He was so scared and just wanted all of this to go away. 

Suddenly, the crawling feeling on Sungmin's skin seemed to stop. He opened his eyes to see that there were no spiders at all. He heaved in several deep breaths pulling his knees to his chest, sobbing. Seungmin’s eyes landed on the mirror where he just managed to catch the black seeming to seep away from the glass. That was real.

Seungmin sprung out of his bed and rushed to turn on the lights before quickly burying himself back in his covers. 

“Hyunjin!” he called, still scared out of his mind. The beautiful boy appeared in the mirror, eyes full of concern and eyebrows knit together. He looked like he was ready to cry if he hadn’t already. “I know you saw that,” Seungmin croaked out. 

Hyunjin looked like he was holding back tears when he nodded. 

“What is going on?” Seungmin pleaded with his friend, hurting. 

“Seungmin . . .” Hyunjin whispered, but it sounded almost like a sob.

“ _Please_ , Jinnie,” Seungmin cried. “Please just tell me. I’m so scared.” Seungmin felt so broken.

“Seungmin . . .” Hyunjin began again. He was crying now. So was Seungmin. “It’s the mirror.”

Seungmin could barely make out his words between the sobs. “Wh—what?” Seungmin didn’t want to believe what he was hearing. 

Hyunjin grew frantic, voice getting louder. “I told you to take me back!” he cried in accusation. “I told you to get rid of me!”

Seungmin’s heart broke. “You . . . you did this?” He was shaking, looking up at Hyunjin in fear and betrayal. 

Hyunjin gasped. “No!” he sobbed. “I couldn’t! I would never! It’s the mirror, Minnie.”

“Hyunjin,” Seugmin pleaded. “What is keeping you in that mirror?” He couldn’t deal with Hyunjin dancing around the question anymore. He needed answers and he needed them now. 

Hyunjin chewed on his lip and shook his head and, for a moment, Seungmin thought he wasn’t going to answer. “I’m not sure,” Hyunjin admitted honestly. “But it’s something evil, Minnie. Something terribly evil. It uses me to draw people in. People want to help me and it uses the time the mirror is with them to . . .”

“To what?” Seungmin prompted, desperate. 

“I told you to take me back. I shouldn’t have taken no for an answer. You don’t deserve this.” Hyunjin spiraled back into his previous state of despair and blame. “I was so selfish spending all of this time with you. I knew this would happen. But I liked to think I could keep it away if I just kept spending time with you. It’s just . . . I like you so _much_. I’m so stupid.”

Seungmin couldn’t help but to catch on a part of what he said. “You can stop it?”

Hyunjin paused. “Kind of? When the mirror is showing me it can’t do anything else. So I try to show up whenever I can. But stopping it once it has started is something else entirely. Sometimes, if I try really hard, I can make myself appear to stop it. But that had only happened once and I try so hard every time. I’m so sorry Seungminnie. Please, _please_ just get rid of the mirror; get rid of me.”

Seungmin’s minds was racing and he was feeling extremely overwhelmed. “You still don’t want to be here?”

Of course I want to be here!” Hyunjin swiped at his tears. “I love being with you. I feel like you care about me and it makes me not feel alone. But I care about you and I don’t want anything else to happen to you. So please, get rid of the mirror.”

Seungmin stood up from his bed, still sniffling. “No,” he said simply. There was nothing Hyunjin could do or say to make him get rid of him. He had grown so attached to the other man in such a short period of time, but it was enough to know that he couldn’t just get rid of Hyunjin like that. “I made a promise, and I have no intention of breaking it.” Hyunjin started crying again. “I will get you out of that mirror.”

“Please,” Hyunjin pleaded. “I don’t want to see you hurting anymore. This only gets worse. I’ve seen it happen. _Please_ , Minnie.”

“No,” Seungmin insisted, stepping closer to the mirror. “I won’t get rid of you. I promised to help you and that is what I am going to do.”

Hyunjin collapsed into his arm, leaning against the mirror. Seungmin took the last few steps to make it as close the mirror as he could. 

“Hey,” Seungmin called softly, reaching out. “We are in this together. I am sure you have done your fair share of suffering yourself. I’ll be okay.” Hyunjin looked up, picking himself up. He sniffled. “We will do this together.” Seungmin gently pressed his fingertips to the glass and watched with teary eyes as Hyunjin did the same on the other side. If it weren’t for the glass, their hands would be touching. If only. 

“Together,” Hyunjin agreed. 

Seungmin lived with this. With these small and random terrors attacking him unexpectedly. Everything was in Seungmin’s head, after all. If he learned to ignore it, it shouldn't be that much of a problem. But that was far easier said then done. Especially when everything about what he heard and saw triggered his fight or flight and made him was to curl up and cry. But Hyunjin was always there to comfort him. 

It was when his friends paid him a visit that things really went downhill. 

Chan and Jeongin were over at his house to spend some much needed time with Seungmin. Seungmin still had to travel a little for work and groceries, but it had been a while since he just got to hang out with his friends. At the moment, they were all sitting in the living room playing games.

“I’m done with cards,” Jeongin complained after losing his third game. He usually won and was clearly unhappy with his luck. 

Seungmin laughed. “Okay. Hook up the game system. There are a couple controllers down here, but I think I left the other in my room. I’ll be right back.” With that, Seungmin rose and snuck upstairs to his bedroom. 

Seungmin cast a glance at his mirror, knowing that Hyunjin was unable to show up when there were other people in his house. He sighed. Seungmin fished the game controller out from under his bed and headed back for the stairs. He only just stepped out of his room when it happened. 

Seungmin froze when he saw a shadowy figure peek it’s head out from a doorway down the hall. Seungmin’s eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened. “No, no,” he pleaded. “Not now.”

Seungmin slowly crept towards the stairs, scared of whatever it was that was watching him. He shivered. The creature stepped fully into view and Seungmin wanted to scream. The figure seemed to be made of shadows, tall and lanky, but it’s red eyed pierced into Seungmin’s soul and a wicked smile seemed tattooed on its face. Seungmin hated it so much and he was so terrified. He walked a little faster towards the stairs, hoping to reach them and get down before the creature could get any closer to him. 

To Seungmin’s horror, he blinked and found that he was right back where he started. “What?” he breathed shakily. “No no no.” Seungmin was beginning to panic. This couldn’t be happening. His friends were waiting for him downstairs. He hoped they were okay. 

Seungmin made one last dash for the stairs, wailing in despair as he ended up right back where he started once again. The creature took a step for Seungmin and he stumbled backwards in fear, dropping the controller and catching himself on a wall to keep himself upright. Seungmin wanted to cry. 

“Stay away!” The creature rushed forward and Seungmin screamed, raising his hands in front of him. When he felt that he was still in one piece, he removed his arms to see the creature directly in front of him. 

“Seungmin?” The creature’s voice was distorted and bone chilling. Seungmin hated that it knew his name. It reached out for him and Seungmin shrieked in fear, reaching out to push it away before stumbling backwards, this time falling. 

Seungmin came crashing back to reality, the shadow monster disappearing entirely, when he heard a familiar scream. Seungmin quickly realized he wasn’t where he thought he was. Quickly taking in his surroundings, Seungmin realized he wasn’t outside of his room, but just at the top of the stairs. He stumbled into a standing position in time to see Jeongin tumbling down the stairs. Seungmin cried out in horror. Had he done that?

He looked down the stairs, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when he saw Chan rush to catch Jeongin before he hit the bottom. Still, that was a long fall and Seungmin was so so scared for his friend. He covered his mouth with his hands, letting out a sob. What had he done?

Seungmin rushed down the stairs. Jeongin was in Chan’s arms. Chan looked shocked and confused and Jeongin was sobbing. 

“ . . . pushed me . . .” Jeongin heaved out through his tears. He sounded like he was in disbelief. “He pushed me.” 

Tears sprung to Seungmin’s eyes. It really had been him. It hadn’t been the shadow creature calling out his name at all, it had been Jeongin. He had pushed him down the stairs. Seungmin was shivering violently when Chan looked up to him in shock and horror. 

“You did what?” Chan asked in utter disbelief. Seungmin opened his mouth, but he was shaking too much and on the verge of tears so he couldn’t manage to get any words out of his mouth. He sobbed, shaking his head. “Seungmin . . .” Chan looked hurt. 

“Ow, ow owowowow.” Jeongin was holding his wrist in one hand, tears still streaming down his face. 

Chan looked down at the boy in his arms. “Jeongin, are you okay?”

Jeongin’s only response was another series of “ow”s through his tears. 

“Jeongin, I’m so _so_ sorry.” Seungmin was full on sobbing. This was the absolute worst thing that had happened to him. 

Chan looked back up to Seungmin in disdain. “I’m going to take Jeongin to the hospital.” Seungmin nodded in agreement, but the second he made a move to follow Chan to the door, the older turned back around. “I think . . . I think you should stay here.”

Seungmin’s heart _shattered_. “ _Chan_ ,” he called out brokenly, but his friend turned away from him, carrying a damaged Jeongin out the door and out of his house. 

Seungmin dropped to his knees and sobbed, listening as he heard Chan’s car start up and drive away. What had he done? He could have seriously injured Jeongin. He had _pushed him down the stairs_. Seungmin wanted to vomit. He felt hopeless and alone. He hurt one of his friends pretty badly and the other hated him now. Seungmin felt so _so_ alone. 

Once Seungmin felt like he had no tears left, he dragged himself back up to his room, ignoring the abandoned controller on the floor in the hall. He just wanted to curl up in a ball and never be found. 

“Seungmin?” 

Seungmin almost started crying again at the sound of Hyunjin’s voice. He was buried under his covers, head and all, and he was not eager to come out. 

“Minnie, what happened? I thought your friends were coming over.”

That’s it, Seungmin was crying again. He threw the covers off of himself, facing the mirror. “They did,” he sobbed. “And I almost killed one of them.”

Hyunjin looked terrified. “What?”

“He was—” Seungmin sobbed. “He was a shadow demon,” He heaved in another breath. “But then he wasn’t.” Another breath. “And I—And I—” Seungmin sobbed. “I pushed him.” Another breath. “And he fell.” Another breath. “Down the stairs.” Seungmin was sobbing so hard it hurt. 

Hyunjin covered his mouth with his hands, eyes wide. “Is . . . is he okay?” Seungmin sniffled, looking up at his friend. He nodded. “Then it’s okay. He’s okay. You’re okay. It wasn’t on purpose.”

Seungmin sucked in another breath to let out another sob. “But now they hate me and I’m scared of hurting them again or of them never talking to me again. I’m just _so scared_.”

“Seungmin, they will forgive you,” Hyunjin tried to comfort him. “They have to.”

Seungmin looked into Hyunjin’s eyes. “But what if they don’t?”

“If they love you, they will always forgive you.” There was a pain lurking in Hyunjin’s eyes, something Seungmin could tell he was trying hard to hide. 

“You have seen this happen more than once, haven’t you?” Seungmin questioned. 

Hyunjin bit his lip, nodding. “Too many times.”

“Hyunjin . . .” Seungmin began carefully. “Who were you with before this.”

“A young couple. Jisung and Minho were their names. But . . . I wasn’t with them for long. When the visions started and they started fighting, they realized they couldn’t let it continue. They wanted to help me, but it got too dangerous and they cared about each other too much. I don’t blame them. I was just a curse that came with the house.”

“Hyunjin, you aren’t a curse,” Seungmin argued. “You are the one that is cursed. You are trapped in that mirror, forced to watch all of the horrors it brings. None of this is your fault.”

“I’m the bait,” Hyunjin croaked. “If I didn’t ask for help, if I just didn’t even show up, none of this would be possible.”

“It’s not your fault for wanting to be free! Besides, if you really felt that way, why did you show yourself to me in that shop?”

Hyunjin bit his lip and Seungmin could swear he saw the other blush. “You looked cute and you seemed really sweet. I . . . couldn’t help it. I didn’t think you would take me home with you. I feel so awful.”

“Don’t you dare feel bad. None of this is your fault. I’m the one that chose to keep you. I care about you way too much to leave you like everyone else has.”

Hyunjin snifled. “I wish I could give you a hug.”

Seungmin smiled sadly. “Me too. That can be the first thing we do when I get you out of there. Promise.” And that was a promise Seungmin fully intended to keep. 

Chan called Seungmin the next day. Seungmin almost cried in relief. He told Seungmin the hospital he had taken Jeongin to and asked him to come. Seungmin didn’t wait a second after the phone call to hop in his car and do just that

Chan greeted him at the door. “Seungmin,” he began, eyebrows knit together. “I’m really sorry about yesterday. I didn’t stop to hear your side of the story. I was just really worried about Jeongin.” Seungmin could tell that he was genuinely sorry and Seungmin wanted to cry. What did he do to deserve friends like this?

Seungmin couldn’t stop himself from leaning in to give Chan a hug. Chan seemed surprised, but he hugged back. “I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to. I promise.” He pulled back to look Chan in the eyes. “What made you change your mind?” Seungmin asked. 

Chan gave him a soft smile. “Jeongin. Once he finally calmed down, he told me he didn’t think you meant to do it.”

Seungmin breathed a sigh of relief. Jeongin forgave him too? He was more relieved than he could physically express. “Did he say anything else?”

Chan bit his lip. “I think he has some questions for you. We both do.” Seungmin nodded. That was fair. 

Chan led Seungmin to the room Jeongin was staying in. Chan informed him that Jeongin was just fine. “The doctors just wanted to keep him overnight to make sure there was no serious damage done, no concussion,” Chan explained. “He woke up just fine, so they are discharging him today. He is only a little bruised and he sprained his wrist, but he is okay.”

Chan opened the door to Jeongin’s room, revealing Jeongin smiling at them from his hospital bed. Seungmin’s heart broke. This was all because of him. He was overwhelmed with guilt. 

“Seungmin!” Jeongin called with a smile.

"Hi,” Seungmin greeted with a shy smile, walking over to his injured friend. “I’m so so _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to, really.”

Jeongin’s smile didn’t disappear. “I know. But . . . I do want to know what happened, Seungmin. You seemed, scared.” Seungmin turned away, breath catching in his throat. He could feel Chan come to stand next to him.

“We could hear you talking from downstairs, and you sounded distressed,” Chan began slowly. 

“Then you screamed, so I came upstairs to check on you. When I did, you were covering your face like something was going to hurt you. And when I called your name . . ."

Tears sprung into Seungmin’s eyes at the memory. He shook his head, sniffling. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

He watched Chan and Jeongin share a look. “Just . . . try,” Chan prompted. Seungmin bit his lip, debating. They would think he was crazy. However, his friend’s gazes were so sweet, so inviting, that he caved. 

“It’s the mirror,” he sobbed, burying his face in his hands. 

“What?” Chan asked, audibly confused. 

“The mirror you got at the antique shop?” Jeongin questioned. “What does that have to do with this?”

“I told you you wouldn’t believe me,” Seungmin sighed, looking between his friends. “I know it sounds crazy, but please just trust me. Ever since I got that mirror I have been seeing things that aren’t really there. But not just seeing; _hearing_ , _feeling_. Yesterday, I really was being attacked, or, I thought I was. I was _scared_.”

“Seungmin . . .” Chan began slowly. 

"I told you . . .” Seungmin sighed sadly, “that you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Well,” Jeongin began. “If you really think that it’s the mirror, why don’t you just get rid of it?”

Seungmin bit his lip. If they didn’t believe that part, how was he supposed to explain Hyunjin to them? “I can’t.”

“Why?” Chan questioned, clearly perplexed. 

Seungmin decided to just bite the bullet. “There is someone trapped in it.”

His friends were silent for a moment. “Assuming I believe all of this,” Chan began slowly. “Why is this your problem?”

“Because all of this bad didn’t start happening until recently. Before that, it was just me and Hyunjin. He’s so sweet and so nice and he keeps me company. I promised him I would get him out of there.”

“So you are telling me you are continuing to live with a haunted mirror just because you fell in love with someone trapped inside of it?” Jeongin said it like he thought Seungmin was losing his mind and he didn’t believe a word of it.

“Love? What? No, I told you I promised him. Everyone else gave up on him, but I can’t.”

“Seungmin . . .” Chan’s voice was soft, but it felt so mocking to Seungmin.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” Seungmin sighed in defeat. 

“Okay,” Chan said resolutely. “I need to give you more credit. Maybe we could try to prove what you are saying. We can . . . go to the antique shop and ask who the previous owner was.”

“Oh,” Seungmin replied, perking up ever so slightly. “Hyunjin told me who the previous owners were. There were no last names, but he said it was a couple. Jisung and Minho.”

“Okay, the fact that you have specifics like that is impressive,” Jeongin said, sounding a little less in disbelief. 

When Seungmin looked back to Chan, the older seemed to be deep in thought. “Jisung . . and Minho. No . . . it couldn’t be . . .”

“Chan?” Seungmin tried for Chan’s attention. 

The older looked up, meeting his eyes. “I think I might know the previous owners. Jisung never said anything about a haunted mirror, but his fiancé’s name is Minho.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

Chan nodded. “I can ask him about it tomorrow. You can come with me. You are the one that knows about all of this.” Seungmin nodded furiously. 

“Can I go too?” Jeongin asked. “I think I deserve to know too.”

Chan smiled at him sweetly. “Of course.”

“I’m closer to finding a way to get you out now than I have been this whole time,” Seungmin told Hyunjin, tying his shoelaces. “It seems the only way to find anything about this mirror is to find people who know about it. The internet has nothing.”

Hyunjin sighed. “It’s weird you are meeting my previous owners. They were really sweet and I completely understand their decision to give me up, but I think a part of me is still a little mad at them for abandoning me. It happens a lot, but it still hurts.”

Shoes now on, Seungmin walked up to the mirror, placing his hand on the glass for Hyunjin to mirror. “Well, you don’t have to worry now. We are in this together.”

“Seungmin, I know all of this is terrible and I really don’t want to give you a reason to change your mind right now,” Hyunjin breathed, leaning into his hand that was up against the glass just opposite Seungmin’s, sad eyes staring into Seungmin’s soul. “But it only gets worse.”

Seungmin shivered in fear. “It’s not a danger to my life . . . is it?”

Hyunjin shook his head rapidly. He was staring into Hyunjin’s eyes searching for the answers he was looking for when he heard the loud honk of a car horn from his driveway. Chan was there to pick him up. Seungmin stepped away from the mirror, waving goodbye to Hyunjin. 

Just before Seungmin closed his bedroom door behind him, he heard Hyunjin’s quiet, ominous words. “It needs you.”

It turns out, Chan had invited both Jisung and Minho to lunch at a cafe near where he worked. Seungmin was nervous the second he saw Jisung and Minho sit down at the table with them. Chan did all of the introductions and they ordered their food and everything was peaceful. However, it couldn’t stay that way for long. 

“Actually,” Chan began with a smile, addressing Jisung and Minho. “Seungmin had something he wanted to ask you.”

“Oh, what’s that?” Jisung asked and suddenly everyone’s eyes were on him. Seungmin panicked. 

He bit his lip looking away. “I . . .” He looked back up to who he was addressing. “I wanted to ask you about a mirror.” He immediately saw both of them tense and he knew he struck a nerve. 

“A mirror?” Minho questioned, hiding behind a smile. 

“I bought a mirror from an antique shop a while ago and I heard from . . . I heard that it used to belong to you.”

The couple’s eyes widened. “You what? How long have you had it?” Jisung seemed so concerned that Seungmin knew they had experienced something similar to what he was going through. 

“A couple months,” Seungmin replied sheepishly. 

“That long!” Minho’s voice was loud, alarmed. “Why do you still have it?”

Seungmin frowned and he couldn’t help the slight glare. “I think you know.”

“Okay,” Jeongin, interrupted. “What is going on. I haven’t understood a single word being said. Why are you being so cryptic?”

“That mirror,” Jisung replied with a sneer. “That mirror is evil.”

“You mean, Seungmin isn’t going crazy? He really has been seeing things?” Chan questioned. Jisung and Minho nodded. 

“How have you just been _living_ with that?” Jisung questioned in disbelief. 

“I promised him I would get him out,” Seungmin replied as if it should be obvious. 

“There really is someone trapped in there?” Jeongin asked incredulously. When Seungmin looked at him his eyes couldn’t help but land on the wrist brace, guilt twisting in his gut. 

Neither Jisung or Minho spoke for a moment. “. . . Yes.”

“We wanted to help him at first,” Jisung defended. “We really did. But it was destroying us. And we didn’t even have it for long.”

Seungmin had so many questions. “How did you get the mirror?”

“It . . .” Minho began, biting his lip. “It came with the house.”

“You mean the mansion you moved into recently?” Chan asked. “Jisung told me someone just _left_ it to you. Is that true?”

Jisung and Minho both began to fidget, glancing at each other for answers neither of them seemed willing to give. “Yes,” Minho said quietly. “And ‘left’ is really a good way to describe it. The couple that lived there before us went missing.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened. “Missing?” he squeaked. 

Jisung nodded somberly. “Changbin’s family gave him the money to afford the mansion when he married Felix. They seemed so happy. I am terrified to think what could have happened to them.”

“Wait wait wait,” Chan held up his hands, shaking his head. “I have so many questions right now. You are telling me that, this whole time, Changbin and Felix have been missing?”

“You knew them too?” Seungmin questioned. So much was happening all at once. 

Chan nodded. “We went to high school together. They both also went into the music industry like Jisung and I, so we were close. But . . . I haven’t talked to either of them for a long time. Now I know why . . .” Chan turned back to Jisung. “If Changbin and Felix went missing, how on earth did you two end up with the mansion?”

“We don’t know.” Jisung sounded distressed. “He left in a will to leave the house to me if he were to go missing. He must have known something was going to happen.”

“Why you?” Chan asked.

“I think . . . I think he wanted us to help Hyunjin,” Minho replied

Seungmin was upset. “They literally went missing trying to save Hyunjin and you two just gave up the mirror to an antique shop!?” 

“Don’t you dare judge us!” Minho shot back, voice getting louder. 

“Hyunjin needed you and you abandoned him. Your friends trusted you to help him and you gave up!”

“You have no idea what terrible things that mirror did to us!” Jisung yelled. People were beginning to stare. Tears were forming in both Minho and Jisung’s eyes. 

“Yes,” Seungmin defended, voice harsh. “I do. I have been living with that thing for much longer than you. I have seen the terrible things it can do. Just look at Jeongin!” Seungmin’s voice was hoarse and he realized he was trying to fight tears himself. 

The couple faltered. “You . . . you did that?” Minho asked, staring at Jeongin’s wrist brace. Jeongin lowered his hand self-consciously. 

Seungmin glared, shaking his head. “The mirror did it.”

“Listen I can’t imagine what you have been through, but you live alone,” Minho continued. “I had Jisung to worry about. Don’t you dare try and play the hero and tell us we should have kept that evil mirror.”

“Hyunjin was relying on you. You weren’t the only ones suffering! Your friends are probably _missing_ because of that thing, but you gave it up. You gave Hyunjin up.” Seungmin’s words were bitter. Minho was glaring at him, tears shimmering in his eyes. Jisung had been silent. 

“That wasn’t—” Minho began loudly when he was interrupted. 

“I tried to kill him,” Jisung sobbed. Everyone went silent. Jisung covered his face with his hands, repeating what he said brokenly, breathily. “I tried to kill him.”

“What?” Seungmin craoked, stunned. “Who?”

Jisung looked up, lip quivering. “Minho.” The word barely made it out of his mouth. 

“‘Sung,” Minho whispered, pained, placing a hand on his fiancé’s shoulder. 

Jisung swallowed a sob, trying to speak again. “And it wasn’t just once. So many times that mirror tried to make me to kill Minho.” He sounded so broken. He met Seungmin's eyes. “We wanted to help Hyunjin. We really did. But it mattered so much more to me for Minho to be alive.”

Seungmin took a deep breath, fighting tears. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jisung croaked. 

“This is all crazy and my brain feels like it is about to explode, but I think it might be time to go.” Everyone looked to Jeongin at his words, but he gestured outward. Almost everyone in the cafe was looking at them and the scene they were making. 

“I think Jeongin is right,” Chan said, standing up. “I will pay for our drinks and meet you all outside.” And that is precisely what they did. 

As the group stood outside, waiting for Chan, Seungmin decided to continue the conversation to some extent. He turned to Minho and Jisung, Jeongin making himself at home at Seungmin’s side. “I am really sorry about your friends. We will find them. We have to.”

Jisung knit his eyebrows together. “It really isn’t safe for you to be keeping the mirror like that. Don’t get me wrong, we really really want our friends to be okay, but we don’t want you getting hurt either.”

“Well, I’m not getting rid of it,” Seungmin replied, slightly annoyed. He though he had already made that clear. 

“You really like him, don’t you?” Minho asked sadly. 

Seungmin nodded slowly. “I promised him we were in this together.”

It was at that moment Chan finally made his way out of the cafe. “Okay,” he breathed. “This is all insane and I am sure Jeongin is as confused as I am, but, if you are all really serious, we need to do something about this. Seungmin, you are so determined to help your friend in the mirror, but how do you plan on doing that?”

Seungmin flinched. “I have been trying really hard to figure that out . . . but I haven’t really found anything out yet. Well, besides this.” He gestures to Minho and Jisung.

Chan bit his lip, nodding. “Okay. Okay, We can work with this. This is better than nothing.” Chan took a breath and looked between everyone. “Jisung, Minho, would you be okay with me visiting your house? I would like to do some looking. That place is pretty old, so I feel like there has to be something there.” The couple nodded.

“What about me?” Seungmin questioned. “Why wouldn’t I go?”

“You need to go home and talk to the person in the mirror.”

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin provided. 

“Right, Hyunjin. You need to go and ask him about what he knows. There has to be _something_. Some way to get him out. And hopefully we can also find a way to find Felix and Changbin.”

“None of that sounds very promising,” Jeongin pointed out. 

Chan sighed, looking to Seungmin, perhaps hoping that he would give in and realize how dangerous keeping that mirror was. Seungmin glared back as a way of showing his determination. “We have to try.”

“Jinnie, we are going to figure this out,” Seungmin promised from atop his bed. 

Hyunjin sighed. “I don’t deserve you.”

Seungmin shook his head. “You deserved someone like me a long time ago.” Hyunjin giggled, shaking his head. “Were you in that mansion for a long time?”

Hyunjin shrugged. “Kind of. It wasn’t the first place I ever was, but, I don’t know . . . when the mirror was there it just felt like it _belonged_ there. I think that’s where it started.”

“Do you know what happened to Felix and Changbin?” 

Hyunjin looked away. “No.” Seungmin’s stomach twisted in a way of warning, telling him that something was off with that statement. It was the same feeling he got when Hyunjin had withheld information before, but he didn’t want to disbelieve him, so he didn’t. Hyunjin said he didn’t know and he believed him. 

“Do you have any kind of idea what we need to do to get you out of there? Even a little?”

“I really wish I did. I feel like all I have ever known is this mirror. But I really hope you are onto something with that house. The mirror was so much stronger there. There has to be _something_.”

Seungmin sat and talked with Hyunjin for ages once again, getting side tracked and simply spending time with someone he has grown so close to. 

A few weeks passed and not much progress had been made. Chan would check in occasionally with progress reports of whatever he could find, between the house, the internet, and the library. So far, it had been nothing much more than speculation and more works of fiction. They seemed further from the truth than ever and Seungmin realized he was falling more for Hyunjin every day. 

It took Sengmin a while to realize that what his friend said was right; he did love Hyunjin. Somehow, through all of the late night talks and exchanged smiles, through all of the time he had spent getting close with Hyunjin, he had managed to catch feelings. Seungmin was in love with a man trapped in a mirror. 

Seungmin didn’t know how it happened. The last thing he remembered was walking out of his house to get the mail. It was nothing out of the ordinary. The next thing he knew he was standing over a body in his living room. He was sure this was the doing of the mirror, but he was still shocked and horrified. He scrambled away in a panic. The mirror had made his see things before, but this was the first time Seungmin had been completely unaware of what he had been doing for a given amount of time. He had no idea how much time had passed and what he had done while he wasn’t paying attention. 

He looked back to the body on the floor, sure that the mirror was once again playing tricks on him. Seungmin drew in a sharp breath at just how _real_ the body looked. It was no one he had ever seen before, but he was young, probably around Seungmin’s age. Seungmin crept closer, steeling himself. He knew it wasn’t real, but nothing could ever make him used to just how _real_ the illusions all were. Down to the smallest details, this looked like a real person. 

The boy on the floor was bleeding profusely, so much so that Seungmin couldn’t tell where the blood was coming from. It was only then that Seungmin realized he was holding something. Seungmin looked down to his own hand to see that he was tightly grasping one of his kitchen knives. He dropped it, alarmed. Was that real? His breathing picked up as he looked down at his hands. He was covered in blood. 

Seungmin was shaking as his eyes traced back to the body on his floor. He also choked as the scent of blood filled his nostrils. His heartbeat quickened. If he had learned anything from these visions it was that he could see them, he could hear them, and he could feel them, but he could never smell them. A part of his brain told him that maybe he had simply never noticed it before, but he was beginning to panic. 

Seungmin ran up the stairs to his bedroom, calling for Hyunjin. Hyunjin was in the mirror, ready to greet him by the time he made it through the doorway. He gasped the second he saw Seungmin, eyes wide. Seungmin felt his heart stop. 

“What?” he breathed, scared to hear the answer.

Hyunjin’s eyes were wide in fear. “Minnie . . . Minnie is that . . . blood?”

Seungmin’s heart dropped into his stomach. “You,” he barely managed to choke out. “You can see it too? It’s really there?” He looked down to his hands. Horrified to see the blood still there. He knew visions couldn’t continue when Hyunjin was present. “Does that mean . . . that that boy . . . ? _No_.”

Seungmin’s mind was racing and he was terrified. “It’s happening isn’t it?” Hyunjin sobbed and Seungmin looked to him in confusion. “I hoped it wouldn’t, but I knew it had to. No no no. Why is this happening?”

Seungmin began to tear up. “Hyunjin, what is going on?”

“You killed someone, didn’t you?” Hyunjin asked through tears. 

Seungmin shook his head. “No.” He took a few steps back. “No I couldn’t have. I didn’t go anywhere. It isn’t possible.”

“Seungmin.”

“I wasn’t anywhere near the mirror. There is no way I killed someone. I never left here. No one ever came here.”

“Seungmin.”

“It’s impossible. I didn’t kill anyone.”

“ _Seungmin_.” Hyunjin was pleading and Seungmin finally met his eyes. “Seungmin, please listen to me.” Seugmin walked closer to the mirror, trying to calm his panic to little success. “The longer you look into the mirror, the more power it has over you. If . . . if you look into it for too long it can influence you even when you are nowhere near it.”

“What?” Seungmin breathed and it was barely a word. 

“I tried to hide it for so long and I am so sorry. I was hoping we could solve this before this happened, but I should have known it never works that way. It’s already been so long since the last time. So, so long.”

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin sobbed desperately. “What is going on?”

“I told you the mirror needs you,” Hyunjin said by way of explanation. “It won’t kill you because it needs you to kill for it.”

“You . . . You’re trying to tell me that I actually killed someone?”

Hyunjin covered his mouth with his hands and nodded. “And it won’t stop here. Now that it had this much power over you, it will only make you kill more. This is what happened with Felix and Changbin.”

“I . . . I thought you said you didn’t know what happened to them?”

“I lied. Once they realized they were killing, they did everything they could to stop it. They locked themselves in a room and blocked any way of exiting. I couldn’t just sit and watch it happen. The mirror would do terrible things to them, make them kill one another if they didn’t die of thirst first. I _had_ to do it, Seungminnie.”

“What did you do?” Seungmin breathed, feeling nauseous. 

“I trapped them in a mirror.”

“You did _what_?”

“I wasn’t the only mirror they had in that room. I didn’t even know I could do it. I just knew I had to do something. I trapped them for who knows how long and now you are a murderer. I am terrible. I didn’t even tell you.” Hyunjin was sobbing, hard. “Please just get rid of me. _Please_. I can’t stand all of this happening to you anymore. I _promise_ you I am not worth it.”

The word “murderer” made Seungmin’s stomach turn and he knew he needed to get out of there. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Seungmin rushed out of the room in a hurry, barely making it to the toilet in time to empty his insides. There is no way this was real. There was no way he had actually _killed_ someone. 

When Seungmin was done retching, he rinsed his mouth and then look at himself in the bathroom mirror. He looked like death. He took a moment to try and collect himself, scrubbing away all of the blood he possibly could before taking several deep breaths. This was real. This was happening. He had a body in his living room of some poor random soul he didn’t even know. A body he needed to get rid of. 

Seungmin tamped his emotions deep deep down, letting the adrenaline of fear pump through his veins. He scavenged for an old blanket in his living room, using it to wrap the body, gagging at the smell and trying his hardest not to look. 

Seungmin never thought this would be a reason he would be glad to live in the middle of the forest, but here he was. Dragging a body out into the trees was not a task he ever thought he would be doing and he hated every second of it. It took his way too long to dig the hole and way too long to cover it. It took him way too long to clean his floor of blood stains and way too long to remove any traces of murder from both his house and himself. Seungmin was shaking by the time he was done for many reasons. 

When Seungmin walked back into his room, Hyunjin wasn’t around. 

“Hyunjin?” he called softly. The other boy appeared in the mirror, face tear-streaked and puffy. Seungmin’s heart shattered. “I . . . I took care of the body.”

“Minnie,” Hyunjin sobbed out. “Please. I know you want to. Please just get rid of me.”

Seungmin took a deep breath, trying to stop his shaking. “I can’t do that Jinnie. You know that.”

Tears were streaming down Hyunjin’s cheeks once again and he was trying furiously to wipe them away. “Please,” he croaked. 

Seungmin stepped as close to the mirror as he possibly could. “Please don’t cry, Jinnie.”

“Why?” Hyunjin sounded so broken. “Why do you insist on keeping me even when all of these terrible things happen?”

“I can’t lie to you, I am scared out of my mind. I just killed someone and I have no idea what to do. But I _can’t_ leave you, Hyunjin. I love you too much.”

Hyunjin froze. “Did you . . . did you just say you loved me?”

Seungmin had barely realized those words had come out of his mouth. He swallowed his initial panic. “Yes. Because I really do. I know nothing about our relationship is normal and I can’t even touch you,” Seungmin reached out instinctively, “but I love you so much. I would give you the world if only I knew how.”

Hyunjin sobbed, shaking his head. “This can’t be real. You can’t mean that. Not after everything.”

Seungmin wasn’t going to lie. He was hurt. “But I _do_ mean it. Hyunjin, I love you.”

Hyunjin smiled through his tears. “I love you too,” he breathed. “So, so much. I was so scared you would get sick of me every day, of all of the terror the mirror brings. But I love spending time with you, talking to you, smiling with you, laughing with you. You actually _care_ about me more than anyone else and it makes me want to cry whenever I think about it. I really _really_ don’t deserve you.” Hyunjin pressed his hand against the glass and Seungmin immediately placed his hand over it. 

“I so badly wish I could touch you right now,” Seungmin laughed through his own tears. 

Hyunjin laughed as well. “I’m holding you to that hug when you get me out of here.”

“I couldn’t forget it.”’

Seungmin didn’t sleep that night. He tossed and turned in bed think about what he had done. He just couldn’t make himself believe it. He had killed someone. And he was terrified. 

Firstly, he was horrified that he had ended someone’s life, but he was also terrified of what this meant. He didn’t remember ever leaving his house that day. Let alone killing someone. That meant the mirror had enough control over him to not only make him see things, but to literally control his actions. He didn’t even know _who_ he had killed. There was also the looming possibility of him being caught. If anyone knew he did this, he would be locked away for the rest of his life and he would never be able to help Hyunjin. He couldn’t let that happen. 

It was the middle of the night, but Seungmin _needed_ to talk to Chan. He called up his friend, knowing that he had trouble sleeping regularly, and he hoped. He breathed a sigh of relief when his friend picked up, not sounding tired in the least. 

“Chan?” Seungmin whispered into the night.

“Did something happen?” Chan questioned, straight to the point. 

Seungmin knew his sigh was audible He ran a hand through his hair, stressed. “I know you have really been trying, but it is really important that we figure something out soon.”

“Seungmin—”

“I can’t tell you what happened. Please . . . just try.” 

There was a short silence. “Okay.”

Seungmin suffered through the following day, riddled with guilt, worry, and fear. The lack of sleep was killing him and he knew Hyunjin could tell. Hyunjin had made it clear that he could see what was happening through the mirror even when he wasn’t being shown in the glass. Seungmin knew that the other knew he didn’t sleep. 

Seungmin ached to check where he buried the body. He wanted to just forget it ever happened and he knew that he needed to just leave it alone, but he was so terrified something would happen. He knew that no one lived near him, but a part of him still feared that someone had found it. 

He had no idea who that poor boy was and he felt awful. He wondered how long it would be before people realized he was missing. He wondered how he managed to get the boy back to his house to kill him. Seungmin assumed that is what had to have happened, seeing as he had his kitchen knife in his hand when he came to. He hated even trying to imagine what went down. 

Seungmin ignored the shadow creature that crept into his room that night. The mirror clearly knew what freaked him out, but he was getting sick of these things. Seungmin lie flat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He heard the footsteps grow closer. He looked up to see a familiar face looming over him. Seungmin scrambled into a sitting position, heart beating out of his chest. 

Seungmin hated it the most when the mirror made him see real people. Usually it just took Chan and Jeongin and terrified Seungmin by making him see them around his house when he knew they weren’t there. However, the person standing in front of him now was someone the mirror hadn't manifested before. 

Seungmin drew in a sharp breath as he stared at Hyunjin standing before him. He blinked rapidly, trying to process what he was seeing. He had only ever seen Hyunjin from behind the mirror, which meant Seungmin really only ever saw him from the waist up. Seeing Hyunjin as a seemingly corporeal parson actually standing before him was surreal. He knew it wasn’t real, he knew it was just the mirror playing tricks on him, but still his heart fluttered. 

He couldn’t help but wonder if this is really what Hyunjin looked like outside of the mirror. He was taller than Seungmin had expected, and thinner, but still gorgeous. He wanted to reach out and touch him, but his body told him it was a bad idea. When he met the eyes of the man standing before him his eyes were completely blank. It sent a shiver down Seungmin’s spine. 

“Hyunjin,” Seugnmin called breathlessly, scared. He looked at the mirror. Black. 

The imitation in front of him began to creep closer, reaching for him. Seungmin drew his knees to his chest, trying to get away, but unable to look away. The imitation crawled onto the bed slowly and Seungmin shivered in fear, body frozen. 

“Hyunjin,” he called again, louder this time, pleading. The mirror was still black. 

The imitation crawled so close that it was now directly in front of him, only barely not touching him. Seungmin’s breathing quickened. He didn’t know what it wanted and he was terrified staring into its lifeless eyes. It reached out for him and he flinched away, but that didn’t stop it. 

The touch was cold on his cheek, but ever so soft. Seungmin squeezed his eyes closed, trying to turn his head away. He felt a hand wrap around his wrist. He shivered.

“Hyunjin,” he called desperately, trying to curl further into himself, trying to pretend like nothing was there even though he could feel it’s touch on his skin. 

He kept his eyes closed as he felt the breath of the imitation on his cheek. He felt sick. He knew the mirror was taking advantage of his feelings for Hyunjin; it was using them to torture him. He wanted to be able to touch Hyunjin, for the other to be with him, not trapped in a mirror. But this _wasn’t_ Hyunjin. 

Suddenly, Seungmin couldn’t feel the imitation’s touch anymore, but he was still far too terrified to open his eyes. Only when he heard a familiar voice did he finally open his eyes.

“Minnie?”

Seungmin’s eyes snapped open. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw Hyunjin in the mirror, the _real_ Hyunjin. Seungmin gulped, meeting Hyunjin’s eyes.

“You saw that?” Hyunjin nodded and Seungmin suddenly felt like crying. “That’s the first time it's done that,” he wondered breathlessly, still somewhat in shock. 

“I’m so sorry.” Hyunjin looked down. 

“Sorry for what? That wasn’t you.”

“I couldn’t stop it. I hated seeing that _thing_ impersonate me like that just to torture you.”

“Jinnie, it’s not your fault. And I’m okay.” Seungmin took a deep breath. “That was just surreal.” He shakily stood and walked to the mirror. “I promised I would get you out of there. Hopefully one day soon that can really be you here with me.”

Seungmin saw Hyunjin shiver. “Like that?” he breathed, shy. 

Seungmin laughed when he realized what the other meant. He smiled. “If that’s what you want.”

Hyunjin smiled, nodding shyly. “I want to be there with you too.”

Seungmin pressed his hand to the glass and Hyunjin did the same. It felt like the only way they were really able to touch, even if it wasn’t even that. 

Chan called Seungmin out the next day. This time, he chose to hold the meeting at his house. Jeongin was already there when Seungmin arrived, insistent upon being involved despite, or perhaps because of, what happened to him. Sitting down at Chan’s dining table, Seungmin could see that the older had a lot he wanted to say. There were books and folders stacked on his desk and his laptop was open. He really had been trying his best to research all of this. 

“I have spent most of my time trying to find any and all information about haunted mirrors and that mansion and have not had very much luck so far,” Chan began. “However, when you called me the other night I realized I was completely forgetting about something very important: the person trapped within the mirror.”

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin questioned, confused. 

“Exactly,” Chan replied with a smile. “Hwang Hyunjin, right?” Seungmin nodded slowly. Chan opened one of the folders lying on his desk , pulling out a newspaper clipping and sliding it over to Seungmin. 

Seungmin squinted at the paper, eyes widening when he read the heading. _House on the Market After Owner Mysteriously Goes Missing_. A picture of a small home was displayed next to a picture of what could only be assumed to have been the previous owner. Seungmin was shocked to see a familiar face.

He looked up to meet Chan’s gaze. “Is that him?” Chan asked hopefully. Seungmin nodded, shocked. He had not idea how Chan had found this. “Keep reading.”

_Though this may not seem all too notable at first glance—people go missing all the time—there is more to this than what lies on the surface. Hwang Hyunjin was only 20 years old when he was pronounced missing. He had seemingly no relatives or acquaintances to speak of so we are unsure of just how long he had been missing before he was reported. There are no traces of where he could have gone; it seems that he simply vanished. Upon searching his home, authorities found an extremely ornate mirror and one can only ponder how he came to own such a seemingly expensive object. The work looks remarkably similar to that of a famous silverer who is known to have been the original owner of a mansion outside of town. Some speculate that he was simply a thief who disappeared while on the run while others feel there is something more sinister at play._

“How did Hyunjin get the mirror?” Jeongin asked, clearly having already seen the newspaper article before him. 

Seungmin shook his head. “Hyunjin doesn’t remember anything about what his life was like before.”

“This means we know where the mirror came from,” Chan said excitedly. “ _Who_ it came from. Look.” Chan spun his laptop around so that Seungmin could see the screen. It was a pdf file of another newspaper article, but this one was much older. “This one was old enough that it had to be archived digitally.” _Famous Silverer Dies of Mysterious Causes_. “He just dropped dead in his house. No sign of any external injury and no previous signs of ailment. Just, dead.”

Seungmin wasn’t following. Luckily, Jeongin was. “He almost certainly had something to do with that mirror. We may never know how he made it, but now we know where it came from and what we are looking for. This could be the way to stop it.”

“You mean . . .” Seungmin’s mind was spinning. “That the source of power for that mirror could be somewhere in that mansion?” Chan and Jeongin nodded. “But what do we do about that?”

“We already asked Jisung and Minho. They said we can all pay their home a visit in a few days. I will come to get you. We are going to figure this out. Before things can get any worse.”

“I don’t think they _can_ get worse.” His friend looked concerned, but Seungmin believed what he said. This wasn't just about him being stubborn and in love anymore; he was a legitimate danger to other people. He had already _killed_ someone. 

“Just . . .hold out for a few more days, okay?” Chan offered, concern dripping from his voice.

Seungmin sighed. “I can only try.”

“As long as I am talking to you, I am safe, aren’t I?” Seungmin was chewing on his lip nervously. 

Hyunjin’s eyebrows knit together. “Of course.”

“I’m just . . . so scared. I don’t want anyone else to die. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“It will be okay,” Hyunjin comforted. “You reassure me all the time, so it is my turn to reassure you. I believe you can solve this. I always hope that someone will, but, with you, I just _know_ you can do it. You have to. I want to be there with you _so bad_.”

“I know,” Seungmin said, smiling sadly. “I want you here too. And thank you.”

“I’m always here,” Hyunjin said somewhat jokingly. 

“Would you be if you weren’t stuck?” Seungmin asked, heart aching. “I know that you have been trapped in there for an amount of time that I cannot even comprehend. I know you probably want to get out and explore. You know, be free.” Seungmin was looking down at his hands. 

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin called and he looked up to meet Hyunjin’s eyes shyly. “I don’t want to explore. I want to be free, of course. But I want to be with you.”

“Are you sure you aren’t sick of me by now. I’m the only person you can even see right now.”

Hyunjin shook his head. “That’s just it. All I can do is _see_ you. I so badly want to be _there_ with you. I want to live a normal life for once to make up for what I have lost. To me, that doesn't mean traveling; that means spending my time with the person I love the most.”

Seungmin’s heart squeezed in his chest. “I don’t deserve you. You are too good to be true.”

Hyunjin laughed. “That’s what I thought when I met you.”

Seungmin tried to spend almost all of his time with Hyunjin up until the day Chan was coming to get him. He was so terrified of something happening again without his knowledge. However, he knew he couldn’t be with Hyunjin forever. It was the day he was supposed to visit the mansion and he was just opening the fridge to grab a quick breakfast and suddenly he was standing in the middle of his living room. 

Seungmin stumbled backwards in alarm, remembering what he had done last time this happened. He looked around desperately, heart beating out of his chest. He let out a loud sigh of relief when he couldn’t find a body. He was still shaking, but slightly more calm. The mirror was just messing with him again, playing to his fears. 

Seungmin took a deep, steadying breath, shaking his head and walking back into the kitchen. His stomach growled. This mirror was stopping him from eating breakfast and he wasn’t happy about it. 

Seungmin set his phone on the kitchen counter, turning it on to play some music while he cooked. However, Seungmin froze when he saw the time flash on the screen. It wasn’t morning anymore. He laughed to himself, frightened. Surely the mirror was just making him see things. He turned it off and back on again. The time was the same. Seungmin’s heart rate sped up once more. His eyes caught on his hands, suddenly noticing they were covered in dirt. Had they been like that a second ago?

“Seungmin?”

The sudden voice shook Seungmin out of his thoughts. He turned abruptly to see a man he didn't know standing directly in front of him like he had been there all along. Before Seungmin’s mouth could even form the word “who” he was silenced by the look of pure and utter pain that dawned on the man’s face, his mouth falling open. Seungmin flinched when the man coughed up blood, looking down. Seungmin followed his eyes to where Seungmin was holding a knife deeply embedded in his abdomen. 

Seungmin screamed, letting go of the knife and scrambling backwards, running into the counter hard enough to bruise his back. He brought a hand up to his mouth, trembling in pure horror. He watched as the man collapsed to the ground, clutching at the weapon still inside of him. Tears sprung to Seungmin’s eyes. It was happening again. It was really happening again. 

Seungmin tore himself away from the counter and sprinted up to his room, shouting for Hyunjin desperately. Hyunjin was already in the mirror when he got there, eyes wide. 

“Seungmin!” he breathed. “You’re okay!”

“No I’m not, Jinnie!” Seungmin was frantic. There was a stranger bleeding to death in his kitchen and it was by his hand. “It happened again.”

Hyunjin ran a hand through his hair. “The mirror is getting desperate, Minnie. It usually takes a much longer time before it kills again. You must be close to solving this and I think it knows.”

“So what?” Seungmin asked, shivering violently. “It’s trying to scare me by making be kill someone almost consciously?”

“It did what?” Hyunjin sounded breathless in disbelief. 

“Hyunjin, I saw him alive this time. It’s like I wasn’t in control. One second he was fine and the next I had stabbed him. Hyunjin, I don’t know what to do.” Seungmin was ready to have a breakdown. Wasn’t one death enough?

“Seungmin, listen to me. You are going to solve this. Today. If you weren’t close the mirror wouldn’t be this desperate for power. I believe in you. I am so _so_ sorry you have to go through this, but I believe you can end this.”

Seungmin took a few steadying breaths, sliding his hands over his face. He still felt sick and he was still shaking, but he was trying. “I need to go clean up before Chan gets here,” Seungmin breathed shakily. It felt so wrong even thinking about anything else right now, but Hyunjin was right. He _had_ to end this.

Seungmin washed his hands to the best of his ability in the bathroom, splashing water on his face as well to remove the dirt he had gotten on it. He took several more steadying breaths, trying to brace himself for what he would see when he went back downstairs. 

Seungmin almost vomited when he saw that the man had dragged himself away from where he had originally been stabbed. He was still in the kitchen, now completely unconscious, but he had made it to the doorway and Seungmin realized he was probably trying to go for the door. He felt nauseous. 

Seungmin gulped, moving to peer out the glass door into his back garden. He drew in a sharp breath when he saw one of his flower beds completely dug up, replaced by what seemed to be a very deep hole that was disturbingly human-sized. He realized that must be why his hands were covered in dirt. The mirror had planned ahead this time. 

Seungmin walked back over to the body, trying to take in the situation. Chan would be here soon and he currently had a body lying on his kitchen floor. An intense wave of nausea rolled over Seungmin when he realized the poor man was still _breathing_. He couldn’t hold it in this time, rushing to the bathroom.

Seungmin had just made it back to the kitchen and was contemplating his game plan when he heard a knock at his door. His heart stopped. For a moment, he just stood there, frozen. His panicked brain played with the thought of a police officer awaiting him on the other side. What if he was caught? They would never believe him if he tried to blame his actions on a haunted mirror. 

Seungmin took a deep breath and walked slowly over to the door, but not before peering out the window to see whose car was in the driveway. Seungmin breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was Chan. However, that relief quickly faded back to a dread. Chan had actually come to the door, which meant Seungmin must have missed when he got there while he was in the bathroom. 

Seungmin swung the door open, putting on a smile for his friend. However, Chan was not easily fooled. 

“You look terrible,” his friend commented immediately in lieu of a greeting. 

Seungmin took a deep breath. “I’m fine. We just need to go.”

Though it was clear Chan was worried, he didn’t prod any further. It wasn’t until they were in the car with Jeongin that the youngest pointed something out. 

“You have dirt under your nails,” Jeongin commented curiously. 

“I was just . . . doing some gardening,” Seungmin replied and he wasn’t exactly lying. He made a mental note to actually plant some flowers later. 

“Gardening?” Chan questioned. “Today?”

“I needed something to relieve the stress.”

“Fair enough.”

Before Seungmin knew it they were pulling up to the mansion. The edifice loomed over them like a giant, magnificent yet horrifying. It sent a shiver down Seungmin’s spine. This is where it all began. And where he hoped it would all end. 

Chan led them to the front door where Minho and Jisung were waiting. 

“I really hope we can end this today,” Jisung said with a light smile. 

“Yeah,” Seungmin sighed. “Me too.”

The inside of the house was just as impressive as the outside; it was breathtaking. However, it was clear the couple living there had really made it their own. Seungmin could tell they weren’t used to living someplace so lavish from how unkempt it was. It wasn’t necessarily messy, but it certainly didn’t look exactly how Seungmin would imagine a mansion to look. 

“We kept most of the furniture that came with the mansion,” Jisung explained as he led the group further inside. “Though, we don’t know what came from the original owner and what came from Felix and Changbin.”

“I assume you have already made your way through any books that came with the place?” Seungmin inquired. 

“Whatever we missed, Chan got to,” Minho replied. The group had stopped in what seemed to be a living room, taking seats on the comfortable furniture.

“Did you find anything that could be helpful?” Seungmin asked hopefully. 

“There were . . .” Chan began, “some pretty shady texts in there. I don’t know what the original owner got up to, but it was nothing good.”

Seungmin looked around, deciding to mention something he noticed as he walked through the mansion. “There are a lot of mirrors in here.”

“Yeah,” Minho replied. “The rest of them seem to be normal. We have been considering getting rid of them just in case though.”

“Don’t!” Seungmin was quick to shout. The others stared at him, startled, and he looked away. 

“Why? Will something bad happen? Are they cursed after all?” Jisung asked, frightened. 

“No, just . . . trust me. Keep them. For now, at least.” Seungmin remembered what Hyunjin had said about Changbin and Felix. They were trapped in one of these mirrors, he just had no idea which one. 

“Do you think one of them could be the key to solving this?” Jeongin questioned, catching everyone's attention. Seungmin hadn’t even thought about that. 

“How would we know which one?”

Chan stood abruptly. “I think I might be able to figure it out.” He hurriedly pulled his phone out of his pocket and began scrolling for something, while explaining. “I took pictures of things that seemed important while I was researching so I wouldn’t have to take all of the books and files with me. After I found out about the silverer who used to live here I decided to look further into him.” Chan’s eyes scanned his phone frantically as he spoke, searching. “He crafted a variety of beautiful mirrors, but he was famous for one in particular.” Chan finally found what he was looking for, turning his phone to show the group a picture of a giant mirror that looked more expensive than Seungmin’s entire house. 

The mirror on Chan’s phone was not only full-body, but even larger. The golden detailing around it was so intricate it was haunting. Suenmgin could tell just by looking at it that it was pure gold and nothing less. If he squinted, Seungmin could also make out carvings on the actual glass of the mirror. A man who Seungmin presumed to be the silverer stood next to his magnificent creation, further exemplifying its size and majesty.

“Many articles insist it was his pride and joy,” Chan continues. “His most prized creation. Everyone sought after the piece, but he refused to part with it. Once he died. The mirror was never found, in the mansion or elsewhere.”

“Well if it’s not in the mansion, how are we supposed to find it?” Minho asked. 

Chan shook his head. “It’s in the mansion. It has to be. He wasn’t willing to part with it and I don’t believe he ever did. Until he died, that is.”

“Are you trying to tell me there is some sort of secret room in this house?” Jisung asked incredulously. 

Chan raised an eyebrow. “With everything you have told me, does that really seem so farfetched?”

“You know what, you’re right,” Jisung replied, sitting back.

“How are we supposed to find it?” Jeongin questioned. 

“That . . . I don’t know,” Chan admitted. Everyone sighed. 

“Then I guess we have our work set out for us,” Minho resolved, standing. “Let’s get looking.”

It was dusk they had yet to have any luck with finding anything; the mirror, or a secret room. Seungmin was beginning to doubt there was anything to find. He was also getting a very uncomfortable feeling being down in the basement alone and was thankful when Jeongin descended the stairs to join him. 

“Nothing?” Jeongin asked, clearly not daring to hope for any positive news. Seungmin shook his head and the younger sighed. 

After a minute of searching one area, Seungmin shivered. “Do you think it’s cold down here?” 

Jeongin thought about it for a moment. “Kinda?”

Seungmin shivered again. “It feels like I’m right on top of a vent or something, but I don’t see anything.”

Jeongin met his eyes. “Or maybe you are standing by the entrance to another room. One that doesn’t have heating. A secret room.” Seungmin’s eyes widened. 

Jeongin darted over to him and the pair began searching the area frantically. Pushing and pulling at everything. 

Seungmin wrapped his fingers around the edge of a floor-length mirror and gave it a slight pull. He was surprised when the chill got stronger, but even more surprised when the mirror began to slide as if on a hinge. 

“Jeongin!” 

The younger rushed to help Seungmin push the mirror to the side, revealing what indeed seemed to be a secret room. The pair stepped inside in awe. The room was dark until they stepped in, lighting up as soon as they made it through. Seungmin was alarmed by the fact he couldn’t tell where the light was coming from. He gulped. 

The room was mostly empty save for what appeared to be a sort of work station off to one side. Seungmin assumed this must be where the silverer made some of his mirrors. However, that was not the most notable feature of the room. One the wall directly in front of them sat the mirror Chan had shown them. It was so much more beautiful in person.

“Jeongin,” Seungmin almost whispered. “Go and get the others.” Jeongin reached out to give Seungmin’s hand a reassuring squeeze before doing just that.

Seungmin took a deep breath and crept closer to the mirror. He couldn’t help but to notice that the surface seemed to be rippling. Suddenly, a figure materialized behind him and he jumped, turning around. There was no one there. Seungmin looked back to the mirror and gasped when he realized it was Hyunjin behind him. 

Reflection Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Seungmin’s shoulders and Seungmin could almost feel it, heart aching. The reflection set his chin on Seungmin’s shoulder, smiling happily. Seungmin wanted it to be real so bad. It’s the reason he was here at all. 

“This place is crazy!” Jisung exclaimed as he climbed into the room. Seungmin turned around to see everyone finally meeting him in this hidden room.

“Woah,” Chan breathed. “It’s really here.”

Minho rubbed his arms, shivering. “I can’t believe this has been in our house this whole time.”

The four joined Seungmin where he was standing, staring into the mirror. Seungmin turned to look back into the glass to see that Hyunjin was still there, smiling sweetly. However, Seungmin could also see the shocked looks on the faces of his companions. 

“Wh-what?” Minho breathed. “What am I looking at?”

“This is so cool!” Jeongin exclaimed, beaming. 

“What . . . What do you see?”

“Something that makes me really happy. Something that gives me hope I shouldn’t have.” Seungmin could hear the pain in Chan’s breathy tone. 

“We are all seeing different things, aren’t we?” Seungmin asked, already knowing the answer. 

“I sure hope so,” Jisung commented. 

“This mirror shows us what we want to see, doesn’t it?” Jeongin asked, still looking at his reflection. 

“What we want the most, it seems,” Seungmin breathed, biting his lip as the reflection Hyunjin nuzzled into him. 

“Well now we know why he didn't want to get rid of this,” Chan said, looking away. 

"What does this mean?” Jisung questioned. 

“What do we do now?” Seungmin added. 

“This must have been the trade,” Chan explained vaguely. “I did a lot of research about cursed objects. You can never really tell what is true or not with things like that, but some of the books I found here back up my findings. People will do very strange things to get what they want. Some curses are the result of something seemingly good.”

“I’m a little confused, but I think I see what you mean,” Minho replied. “You mean to say that to have a mirror that shows you whatever you want, there also had to be a mirror that was cursed?” Chan nodded.

“Either it was a chance the silverer was willing to take or he had no idea another mirror would be cursed when he created this one. Favors of evil always demand something in return. In this case that means a cursed mirror.”

“Should we . . . should we smash it?” Jeongin questioned. “If this is what created the mirror Seungmin has, doesn’t that mean we should destroy it?”

“Will that stop anything?” Jisung inquired. 

“Well . . .” Chan seemed to think. “If this is the source of the power, that might be our solution.”

“I almost don’t want to though,” Jeongin said with a frown. 

“It is kind of nice,” Jisung admitted, gazing into the glass. 

“We have to,” Seungmin interjected pointedly. His mind flashed back to the body still lying in his house and he met the reflection Hyunjin’s eyes in the mirror. “If smashing it will stop the other mirror, we have to.” Everyone seemed to understand. 

“How do we do that though?” Minho asked. “There is almost nothing in this room.”

“Almost,” Seungmin replied, picking up the lone chair at the silvering table, carrying it over to the mirror. He took one last gaze into the glass, heart squeezing as he watched the Hyunjin in the mirror plant a kiss on his hair. It wasn’t real. 

Seungmin lifted the chair and swung it at the mirror. The glass cracked, spiderwebbing outwards, but it did not shatter. He looked back to the others who urged him on. Seungmin took a deep breath and swung again, as hard as he could. The glass finally shattered, falling around him. Seungmin dropped the chair and rushed to cover his face with his arms. He felt a few shards of glass slice against his skin as he stumbled slightly backwards. Jeongin shrieked.

Seungmin looked up to see what he had done only to see that the room was now dark. A chill shot down his spine. 

“Is everyone still there?” Seungmin breathed, turning around to scan the dark room. Very little light got in through the entrance and Seungmin really couldn’t tell. 

“Yeah,” Chan breathed. “We’re here.”

“I don’t know if that did it,” Minho added. “But it definitely did _something_.”

Seungmin suddenly remembered something and he realized it would be a great way to check whether or not what he had done had solved his problem. He darted for the entrance. 

“Yeah,” Jisung said. “Seungmin has the right idea. Let’s get out of here. It’s really creeping me out.”

Once the group got out of the basement Seumgin turned to Minho and Jisung. “Where was the mirror before you got rid of it?”

“Uh, we can show you,” Jisung replied, slightly confused. 

Minho and Jisung leading the way. The group began ascending the staircase to the second floor.

“It’s the first door on the . . . do you hear talking?” Jisung interrupted himself, stopping dead in the hall. 

Seungmin did, in fact, hear talking. His heartbeat quickened. In the silence he could distinctly hear two voices. He had never met them, but somehow he _knew_. He slipped past Jisung and swung the door open revealing two men in the room. The others flooded in around him, gasping. 

“Changbin? Felix?” Chan sounded like he was in disbelief.

“It really is you,” Jisung marveled.

“What happened?” Minho breathed. 

“I . . . I don’t know . . .” one of the men replied, seeming confused. He was learning into the other as if for protection. “Why are you in our house?”

Chan shook his head in disbelief. “Felix, you two went missing. For a long time. Minho and Jisung live here now.”

Felix’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“You must have done it then,” the other, which Seungmin could only assume to be Changbin, said in realization. He was looking at Jisung and Minho in awe and appreciation. “You must have stopped the curse.”

Jisung shook his head. “It wasn’t us,” he replied. He nodded his head to Seungmin. “It was Seungmin.

The couple knit their eyebrows together in confusion. “He has had the mirror for months now, but he refused to give up like we did,” Minho admitted. “He was the one that did this.”

“Then we have you to thank, I guess,” Felix replied gratefully. I thought for sure we would die.”

Seungmin shook his head. “Hyunjin saved you. He trapped you in one of these mirrors so _the_ mirror couldn’t get to you.”

“Hyunjin!” Felix exclaimed. “Does this mean he is finally free?” 

Seungmin felt butterflies erupt in his stomach. He turned to Chan. “I need you to take me home right now.” Chan opened and closed his mouth, clearly torn. They had just found his missing friends, but he knew how much this meant to Seungmin. “You can come right back here after, just . . . _please_.” Chan nodded and that was all it took before he was rushing to keep up with Seungmin as he sprinted out of the house, leaving everyone else behind.

Seungmin felt like he was going to explode the entire way back to his house. It was dark outside and the streetlights flew by as Chan did his best to get Seungmin home safely, but quickly. The second Chan put the car into park in Seungmin’s driveway, Seungmin was flying out of it. 

It took Seungmin way longer than he would have preferred to get the front door unlocked. He barely remembered to close it before he was running up his stairs and to his room. He nearly sobbed when he finally made it. 

The mirror was shattered, and lying among the broken shards on his bedroom floor was Hyunjin. Seungmin covered his mouth with his hands, eyes watering as he was overwhelmed with emotion. He couldn’t believe this was real. He knelt beside the sleeping boy he had fallen hopelessly in love with, ignoring the glass shards. 

He set his hand softly on Hyunjin’s arm, amazed at the fact he was actually feeling him, touching him. He was really there. He moved his hand to brush the hair out of Hyunjin’s face, marveling at the man before him. A tear finally fell. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin whispered. He set his hand on his shoulder. “Hyunjin.” It was more of a sob than a name, but it was what Seungmin could manage. The other stirred, flinching as his hand scraped over broken glass. Seungmin reached out to grab it, worried that he had just hurt himself.

Hyunjin’s eyes fluttered open slowly, looking down at the glass in confusion before flitting up to Seungmin’s. Seungmin let out a sob as realization dawned on Hyunjin’s face.

“Minnie?” Hyunjin was trying to pick himself up and Seungmin helped him.

Seungmin nodded tearily. “It’s me.”

Tears welled up in Hyunjin’s eyes. “I’m really here. You are really right here in front of me.” Hyunjin sounded as choked up as Seungmin. He reached out to touch Seungmin’s cheek and Seungmin let out another sob. “I can really touch you.” He used his thumb to wipe away one of Seungmin’s tears, only making him cry harder. 

Hyunjin practically fell into hugging him. They were both sobbing, clinging to each other like the other would disappear at any moment. They stayed like that for oh so long, just reveling in each other’s embrace. They were really together, no glass between them. 

When Hyunjin broke the hug, he looked directly into Seungmin’s eyes. “This can’t be real. You are too good to be real. I was stuck in there for _so long_.”

“I really did it, Jinnie. No more mirror. You are free.”

“I love you.” It was almost a sob, but Hyunjin said it with his entire being. Seungmin could _feel_ the words. 

Before Seungmin even had the chance to respond, Hyunjin was kissing him. Seungmin kissed back, heart pooling with emotion. He had wanted this for so long. Hyunjin was finally with him. The kiss was clumsy and desperate and both of them were crying, but it was filled with _so much_ emotion. Their lips parted and reconnected time and time again, neither willing to let this end. 

“I love you too,” Seungmin managed to breathe between kisses, clutching Hyunjin as close to him as he could. He had never loved someone as much as he loved Hyunjin and he never wanted this moment to end.

Seungmin woke up to warmth. He blinked his eyes and tried to sit up only to discover that he was being held down. Still not entirely awake it took him a moment to realize just what was stopping him. Seungmin melted at the sight before him; Hyunjin was curled up by his side, arms wrapped tightly around him, their legs tangled. He was fast asleep and showed no signs of waking any time soon Seungmin wondered if he was able to sleep in the mirror. 

Seungmin freed one of his arms to brush the hair out of Hyunjin’s face to allow him to better marvel at the boy in his arms. How was he real? This all felt like a dream and Seungmin still couldn’t believe that Hyunjin was really here within him. Seungmin’s eyes flicked to the mirror hanging on his wall. Only a few shards of glass remained lodged in the frame, the others pieces still littering the floor. 

“Minnie?” Hyunjin’s voice was slurred as he stirred in Seungmin’s arms. Seungmin smiled fondly at his boyfriend as he freed his arms to scrub at his eyes sleepily. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Seungmin apologised softly, giving Hyunjin a peck on the nose. Hyunjin giggled and Seungmin’s heart melted. 

“Mm, it’s okay. I forgot how nice it felt to sleep.”

“It has to have been a long time,” Seungmin sympathized. Hyunjin nodded. 

“I wish we could just stay like this forever,” Hyunjin almost whispered. Just as he did, Seungmin heard his stomach growl. Hyunjin’s mouth fell open in wonder. “I haven’t felt hungry in a long time. This is weird.”

Seungmin laughed, untangling himself from the other’s embrace and sliding out of bed. “Come on, let's get you some breakfast.” Hyunjin beamed at him, throwing off the blankets. “Watch the glass,” he cautioned as he stepped over it himself. “We will need to clean that up later.”

Somehow, Seungmin didn’t know how, he had managed to completely forget about the body lying in his kitchen. When he saw it, he froze up entirely, leaving a confused Hyunjin behind him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him without knowing what was wrong, but Seungmin was panicking all over again. 

“What’s wrong?” Hyunjin asked, voice dripping with concern. There was a silence and Seungmin knew Hyunjin was following his gaze. “Oh . . .”

Seungmin swore, something he never did in front of Hyunjin, but he was stressed. This was all supposed to be over. He wasn’t supposed to have to deal with this anymore. Though, he supposed at least this wouldn’t be happening anymore. 

“We need to bury him,” Seungmin barely managed to get out past the lump in his throat. 

“O-okay.” Hyunjin’s voice was breathy, clearly surprised. 

Seungmin had to take a moment to calm himself down. He got some time away from the scene as he left to retrieve a trash bag. He tried not to think of what he was going to have to use it for. When he got back, he saw Hyunjin staring down at the body. Seungmin stopped to stare. Hyunjin was almost completely frozen, staring at the corpse with a look in his eyes that Seungmin had never seen before. He didn’t know how to describe it, but it almost frightened him. Almost. 

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin called out. The cold look remained on his face. “Hyunjin,” Seungmin repeated, putting a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder. Hyunjin straightened himself as if removing himself from his thoughts and looked to Seungmin innocently. 

“This is really scary,” Hyunjin commented. “I am really sorry you ever had to go through this.”

Seungmin almost breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad Hyunjin got over whatever that was. He hoped he never had to see another body again. “It’s not your fault,” Seungmin breathed, leaning on Hyunjin before stepping towards the corpse of the man he had killed the day before.

Seungmin made Hyunjin leave as he moved the body to the garden and buried it. Hyunjin had already seen enough death, he didn’t need to experience it this close, this personal. By the time Seungmin effectively disposed of the body and all of the evidence, he was starving. He felt bad for making Hyunjin wait. 

Seungmin made both of them a quick breakfast, bringing Hyunjin’s plate to where the other was waiting in their room. When Seungmin walked in he found Hyunjin staring at the broken mirror, the glass shards no longer on the floor. Hyunjin’s face was a mix of emotions. He looked sad, angry, relieved. Seungmin was pretty sure he understood the feeling.

“I brought breakfast,” Seungmin announced lightly. Hyunjin turned to him and his face lit up with a smile. 

“Yay!” Hyunjin explained as he swiped the food right out of Seungmin’s hand. “I cleaned up the glass for you.”

“Thanks,” Seungmin replied as they both sat on the bed and began to eat. “It must feel weird, being on the other side of the mirror. Being able to sweep up what’s left of the thing that had you trapped for so long.”

Hyunjin exhaled a long sigh after swallowing his last bite. “Yeah. It’s surreal, but it is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was just thinking we should get rid of the mirror. Or, what’s left of it.”

Seungmin nodded. “I think that’s a great idea.”

The two reveled in each other’s company, Hyunjin endlessly complimenting the breakfast Seungmin was sure was mediocre. When they finished their food, Hyunjin tackled Seungmin to the bed, showering him in kisses. 

“I love you,” Hyunjin breathed between kisses. “You have done so much for me.” He held himself up above Seungmin. “I know I have been stuck in a mirror for the last eternity, but I want to do whatever I can for you. I want to make you happy. I already caused you so much trouble, I promise I will make up for it.”

“Hey,” Seungmin said softly, reaching up to place his hand on Hyunjin’s cheek, meeting his eyes. “You _do_ make me happy. You have nothing to make up for. I’m just thankful you are here with me now.” Hyunjin nuzzled into his palm. “I love you too.”

Due to the fact that Hyunjin had been trapped in a mirror for the last half of forever, Seungmin would be lying if he said he didn’t struggle trying to teach him a lot. Seungmin bought him a phone and they planted flowers in their backyard. Seungmin taught him to cook, though he had yet to decide how successful he had been. They figured things out together. 

Along with gaining a boyfriend, Seungmin also managed to gain a model for his photography. He had always preferred shots of nature, hence his decision to live in the middle of a forest, but Hyunjin quickly became Seungmin’s muse. As it turned out, Hyunjin was a natural model. 

Seungmin also enjoyed introducing Hyunjin to his friends. Chan and Jeongin could barely believe he was real, but they got along extremely well, much to Seungmin’s delight. His friends made Hyunjin feel welcome and showered him in affection. Minho and Jisung were awkward around Hyunjin at first for obvious reasons, but they eventually managed to get past it. Things between them would never be normal, but they understood that no one meant the other harm. Changbin and Felix were also ecstatic to see Hyunjin. They had risked their lives for him and he felt like he could never repay them. 

Seungmin felt like his life was perfect. He had a large group of friends that understood him and openly welcomed Hyunjin. He was finally able to hold Hyunjin, to be with him physically. His photography career was taking off even more than it had been, Hyunjin rising to a sort of fame through Seungmin’s work. Seungmin was _happy_.

Seungmin tried to ignore the news most of the time, fearing that someone would find out about what he had done, what the mirror had _made_ him do. He feared it, but he didn’t think he ever really expected it. With the mirror shattered and his life all falling into place, all of the evils had seemed to fade away. It almost felt like a dream. That’s why Seungmin’s heart almost stopped when he saw a familiar face on his television screen. 

Seungmin’s perfect world wasn’t nearly as perfect as he wanted it to be. He finally had Hyunjin beside him, something that he was grateful for every day. When he would wake up and see the other beside him he would still wonder if he was dreaming. But the effects of the mirror still haunted him. Both of the people he had killed were officially labeled as missing. No one had connected them and not a single person seemed to suspect Seungmin, but Seungmin still hated it. He had no idea what he had done to even get those people to his home, so he had no idea how to cover up his tracks.

Seungmin was grateful to have Hyunjin beside him. It was still abundantly clear that Hyunjin felt guilty for everything that had happened and he still felt like he had to make it up to Seungmin. Seungmin hated it and did everything he could to let Hyunjin know he was loved. In return, Hyunjin always helped calm him down, like he always did, even while he was still in the mirror. Hyunjin made Seungmin feel comforted, made him feel loved. 

Eventually, people seemed to give up on the missing boys. Seungmin knew they weren’t really over it, but he felt safe. He continued to live his life as if it was completely normal. He started antiquing with Jeongin again, though it came with a little bit of trauma. He started taking Hyunjin out more to experience more. He was happy. 

But as lovely as Hyunjin was most of the time, there were moments where he seemed . . . off to Seungmin. Seungmin loved him with all of his heart and he knew that everyone had moods, but this was something different. It was always moments when Hyunjin thought that Seungmin wasn’t watching that he slipped into these moods. 

They would be out shopping for flowers, getting groceries, anything, and Hyunjin would get this cold, glassy look in his eyes. It was something terrifying. It took Seungmin a while to realize why it was familiar. It was the same look he got in his eyes when he had seen the body in the kitchen. Seungmin wanted to pretend he didn’t notice, and he did. Sometimes, Seungmin would ask if Hyunjin was okay and the other would smile at him and reassure him endlessly. Seungmin knew that mirror had an effect on Hyunjin and he didn’t want to seem as if he was ungrateful in any way. 

So Seungmin ignored these warning signs. He looked away every time he caught Hyunjin sinking into that cold, emotionless state. He chose to only remember all of the moments where his boyfriend was happy, smiling, and just thankful to be living his life. Seungmin reveled in Hyunjin’s company, in his touch. Seungmin should have known it couldn’t last forever. 

Seungmin had just returned home from a photoshoot, excited to see Hyunjin after a long day of work. He walked into the living room just as he would have any other day, but what he saw was far from ordinary. Seungmin froze, his entire body seizing up in fear. 

Hyunjin was standing in the living room, that cold look in his eyes. Seungmin hated seeing him like this, but that isn’t what terrified him. No, what frightened Seungmin to his core was the body lying at Hyunjin’s feet. Seungmin blinked rapidly, hoping that the corpse he was seeing would disappear, that this was all in his head, but he wasn’t so lucky. Seungmin was staring at his boyfriend, hands soaked in blood, staring coldly down at a body in their living room. What had he done?

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin barely managed to choke out his name. He was terrified. He was completely and entirely convinced that Hyunjin would _never_ hurt him, but the scene before him was so utterly bone chilling that he physically took a step back. 

Seungmin watched warily as Hyunjin blinked several times and looked up to meet Seungmin’s eyes. He looked terrified.

“Minnie?” Hyunjin’s eyes glazed over in tears and Seungmin’s heart shattered. “Seungmin, I’m so sorry,” he blubbered, tears already spilling out of his eyes. “I don’t know why I did it. Please, _please_ forgive me.”

Seungmin was still frozen in place, shaking in fear. His heart broke seeing Hyunjin like this, but his body was in a state of shock. Hyunjin clearly noticed Seungmin’s hesitation and fear and it only made him sob even harder. 

“Minnie, I’m so sorry.” He fell to his knees, scrubbing at his tears, leaving streaks of blood across his face. It was both horrific and heartbreaking. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I didn’t want to do this. I’m so so so sorry.”

Seungmin couldn’t take it anymore. He shoved away every part of him that told him to run, that told him he wasn’t safe, and he ran to Hyunjin, wrapping him in a hug. 

“Jinnie, no, you're okay.” Seungmin was still shaking violently as he gently stroked Hyunjin’s back, trying to calm him down. He could feel the sobs shaking Hyunjin’s entire body.  
Hyunjin shook his head. “It’s not okay.” He hiccuped. “Just look at what I did. I’m a terrible person.”

Seungmin refused to look at the body, instead focusing all of his attention on his distraught boyfriend. He tried to shush him gently, to stop his crying. He pulled back only enough to see Hyunjin’s face, tear streaked and bloodstained. His eyes were glistening with tears as he gazed into Seungmin's. Seungmin wanted to cry seeing Hyunjin so desperately sad. “Baby, please don’t be sad,” he pleaded, trying to gently wipe away Hyunjin’s tears as they fell. “Please don’t cry.”

“I don’t know why I did it,” Hyunjin sobbed. “But I just _needed_ to. I couldn’t help it.” 

Seungmin shivered. He knew that Hyunjin meant it. All of those times he saw that look in Hyunjin’s eyes, was he contemplating murder? The mirror had had a greater effect on him that Seungmin could have ever imagined. Hyunijn had been stuck in there, having to watch as the mirror killed people compulsively to survive. The mirror needed to kill to live and Hyunjin had been stuck inside of it. Seungmin should have known that would take a serious psychological toll, he just didn’t know how great it was. 

Hyunjin clutched at Seungmin desperately, trying to hold him close. “I would _never_ hurt you, Minnie. I promise. You know that, don’t you.”

Seungmin didn’t hesitate with his response. “Of course,” he breathed as if it was the most obvious thing. He held Hyunjin like he was the most precious thing in his life, because he was. “We will figure this out, Jinnie. Together.”

“I love you so much,” Hyunjin sobbed into Seungmin. “I don’t deserve you. All I seem to be able to do is make your life difficult. First the mirror tormenting you and now this. Minnie, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I feel so much better now that I did it. I don’t know why and it terrifies me. But I am mostly scared that it’s going to come back. This feeling.”

“What feeling?” Seungmin asked breathily. 

“I . . . I can’t really describe it,” Hyunjin confessed. “Something in me just wants to make other people _hurt_. But I don’t really want that. You have to know that, right?” He looked into Seungmin’s eyes, pleading. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but, sometimes, I really do. And I hate it. But this. What I just did. It made me feel so, so much better. But I hate what I have done.”

Seungmin didn’t respond for a moment, staring at Hyunjin’s face. He had done everything in his power to get this man out of a mirror and into his arms. He loved him with all of his heart. Hyunjin made him happy and it was not at all his fault how broken he was. Seungmin was just grateful to have him there with him. They would make it through this, just like they made it through everything else. 

Seeing Hyunjin sitting in front of him, just so _sad_ , Seungmin’s heart was breaking. He pretended nothing else was happening in that moment. That there was no body at their feet. That nothing was wrong. He delicately placed a hand on Hyunjins cheek, feeling the other momentarily lean into the touch, before dipping in to place his lips softly on Hyunjin’s. He wanted Hyunjin to know that he was there, that he trusted him, and that he loved him with all of his heart. 

“Like I said, we will get through this together. I love you, Hyunjin. You don’t just make my life difficult, you light it up. Sometimes I wonder how I used to wake up in the morning without you by my side. I won’t lie, I am terrified right now, but this is you. I know you would never hurt me. We will figure this out.”

Hyunjin let out a sob and reconnected their lips desperately before crushing Seungmin in a hug, breathing a string of “sorry”s and “I love you”s. 

Seungmin helped Hyunjin bury the body. Hyunjin was a mess the entire time. Seungmin could tell that he felt awful, but, at the same time, Seungmin could also tell that Hyunjin was feeling a little relief. He really did feel so much more free, more himself than he had in a while. It was because he had killed this poor person. Seungmin hated what he had done, but, at the same time, he realized it brought back the Hyunjin he knew and loved so much. 

They planted flowers where they buried the body the next day. Hyunjin seemed so much happier now. He showered Seungmin in love and affection and Seungmin’s heart felt conflicted. Hyunjin felt so much softer, so much warmed. Seungmin was happy he finally relaxed again, but there was this nagging thought in Seungmin’s mind reminding him it probably wouldn’t last.

Seungmin was right and he hated it. He had almost managed to forget about what Hyunjin had done when the other began to grow more cold and distant once again. He did his best never to show anything but love and happiness to Seungmin, but Seungmin could tell that something was wrong. It was just like the first time; Hyunjin would grow icy and emotionless in small moments. 

One day, when it got really bad, Seungmin decided to sit down with Hyunjin on their bed to address the situation. He knew it had to be done. 

“Jinnie, are you okay?” Seungmin asked the question as delicately as he could. Hyunjin opened his mouth and Seungmin could immediately tell that he was going to try and brush this off, say that he was fine. Seungmin cut him off. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Hyunjin sighed, hanging his head. “It’s happening again. I know you can tell.” Hyunjin’s voice was shaking and filled with shame. Seungmin reached out, placing a hand under Hyunjin’s chin and using it to make Hyunjin look up to meet his eyes. 

“It’s not your fault. It _really_ isn't. But we need to figure this out if it really isn’t going away.”

Hyunjin bit his lip, looking like he wanted to hide. Seungmin took his hands in his, hoping to comfort him. Hyunjin offered him an appreciative smile. “I just . . . can’t help it. Sometimes, when we are around people, I just get this _urge_ , this impulse. Like I have to do it. Like . . . one of them needs to die. Sometimes, even when I’m alone, I think about it. Death.” Seungmin shivered. Hyunjin looked immediately alarmed. “You know I would _never_ hurt you.”

“Of course, baby.” Seungmin could say that with absolute certainty. 

“It drives me crazy. Slowly, it creeps into my mind more and more until it becomes more of a _need_.”

“This isn’t going to stop until you kill someone, is it?” Seungmin asked, already knowing the answer. 

Hyunjin gulped and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Seungmin took a deep, steadying breath. “If that’s how it has to be.”

Hyunjin looked completely confused. “What?”

Seungmin looked away, running a hand through his hair, before meeting Hyunjin’s eyes again. “If you have to kill to be you again, you have to do it. I don’t like you killing people—it’s terrifying—but if that’s what it takes for me to have you back as yourself, if that what it takes to stop your suffering for even another minute, it has to be done.”

Hyunjin blinked rapidly. “Wh— Seungmin, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I’ll help you. Kill people. When you really need to, when it becomes too much for you, I’ll help you. I’ll help you hide the evidence, help keep you safe in any way I can. You matter enough to me that I would do _anything_ for you.”

“Seungmin, I could _never_ ask you to do that for me. Maybe I should leave. This is really too much. You have already dealt with enough death.”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Seungmin was annoyed. Did Hyunjin really think that’s what he wanted? “I dedicated all of my time to getting you out of that mirror to be here with me. I went through so much just to have you here. Why, _why_ , would I _ever_ want you to leave?” Seungmin was tearing up. “Hyunjin, I love you. Please don’t say things like that. Please don’t ever leave.”

“Minnie, I’m so sorry!” Hyunjin threw his arms around Seungmin. “I didn’t mean it like that! I’m so sorry. I won’t leave. I love you.”

Seungmin clutched at him, trying desperately to draw him impossibly closer. “Please.”

“I just hate doing this to you. I know this is all so messed up.”

“It’s okay, Jinnie.” Seungmin pulled back to meet Hyunjin’s eyes once again. “I wouldn’t have said that if I didn’t mean it. We will deal with this together.”

Hyunjin sniffled in a sad, but strangely happy way. He held up his hand and Seungmin gently placed his on it, just like they used to when Hyunjin was trapped in the mirror. “Together.”

“Your garden is really coming along,” Chan complimented, looking in awe at the extensive garden Seungmin and Hyunjin were continuing to develop.

“Your back yard is going to turn into a flower field at this rate,” Felix joked with a smile.

Seungmin laughed lightheartedly. “Yeah . . .”

“It really is beautiful,” Minho added with sincerity. The group was gathered in Seungmin’s backyard, seated at a couple of outdoor tables the couple had set up as addition to their ever-growing garden of flowers. 

“Thank you,” Hyunjin said with a bright smile that made Seungmin’s heart melt, as always. If only their guests knew why they had so many flowers. 

Under the beautiful, colorful plants, was something much more sinister. Almost every patch of flowers held its own secret deep within the soil. Their friends didn’t question the way they seemed to add a new patch every month or so. 

“Why do you have those poppies by the tree way out there?” Jeongin asked, pointing out into the woods. Seungmin shivered. 

“Oh, I felt like they would look nice out there.” Seungmin wasn’t exactly lying. Jeongin hummed an intrigued response. 

“I am so happy that we can all be together like this,” Jisung said with a smile. “I never would have imagined things would end up like this, but I am so happy they did.”

“You ‘re telling me,” Changbin replied with a laugh. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if Seungmin never got that mirror.”

“Yeah . . .” Seungmin breathed, feeling Hyunjin wrap an arm around his waist. He leaned into him happily. “I can’t be more glad that I found that mirror.”

“Even with all of the bad it caused you?” Hyunjin questioned. It was a challenge. Seungmin had already told him a million times how he felt about that.

Seungmin turned to meet his eyes, grabbing the hand that was resting on his waist. “You were worth it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any spelling mistakes. I tried my best to spell check this, but I know I miss things. I will fix errors as they come to my attention.


End file.
